Paper-pulp-cleaning apparatus



June 24, 1924 1,498,716 N. H. BERGSTROM PAPER PULP CLEANING APPARATUS Filed May 26 1922 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 INVENTOR. VZM

A TTORNEYS 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 N. H. BERGSTROM PAPER PULP CLEANING APPARATUS Filed May. 26 1922 mwszvrox BY Y ATTORNEYJ.

June 24, 1924.

Patented June 24, 1924.

PAPER-PULP-CLEANING APPARATUS.

Application filed. May 26, 1922. Serial No. 563,885.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, NATHAN H. BERG- STROM, a citizen of the United States, and resident of Neenah, in the county of Winnebago and State of Wisconsin, have invented new and useful Improvements in Paper- Pulp-Cleaning Apparatus, of which the following is a description, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, which are a part of this specification.

This invention relates in a paper pulp cleaning apparatus and has for its object to provide an apparatus of this character which will rapidly and efiiciently clean the paper making fibers either prior or subsequent to the usual chemical treatments to which they are subjected.

A further object of the invention is to provide a device of the character described in which the fibers are subjected to the cleansing action of successive jets of water or efficient in operation than those which have.

been heretofore proposed, in that provision is made for draining or removing the dirty water from both sides of the machine, thereby reducing the amount of power-required for a successful operation.

A still further object of the invention is toprovide an apparatus of this character which will be simple in construction, comparatively inexpensive to manufacture,-and more efficient in operation than those which have been heretofore proposed.

Vith these and other objects in view which will appear as the description proceeds, the invention consists in the novel details of construction and, combinationsof parts more fully hereinafter disclosed and particularly pointed out in the appended claims.

In the accompanying drawings in which like numerals designate like parts in all the views; i v

Figure 1 is a plan view partly broken .away of an apparatus made in accordance with the present invention;

to improvements the said vat or container.

other foreign matter from the pulp before 3 1t 18 treated with the sulphite or other chemi cals, depending upon the process being followed. In order to operate most'efficiently it is desirable that-the process be carried oncontinuously, and the present inventioncontemplates the provision of an apparatus for accomplishing this desirable result.

Referring to the drawings the numeral 5 mclicates I any suitable vat or container which is provided with the bottom wall6 extending substantially the full length of The said bottom wall is provided with a plurality of substantially semi-circular depressions 7 8, and 9, the tops of which are connected togethersubstantially as shown and providing" a series of compartments or chambers 10, 11, and12. H

Rotatably mounted inthe side walls of the vat 5 and extendingtransversely of the chambers 10, 11, and 12 are the-shafts 13,- 14:; and 15, which carry the draining and feeding drums 16,17, and 18 'respectively. These said drumsmay be of any suitable construction and are here shown as comprising octagonal 'frames which be covered with'wire mesh of suitable-fineness as is customary in thisclass of work.

The'shafts 13, 14, and-15 carrying the said drums are mounted eccentrically of the semi-cylindrical compartments 10, 11, and 12, as is clearly illustrated in Fig. 2, so that the peripheries of'the said'drums approach closer to the right hand side of the compartments, asseen in Fig. 2,'than they do toward the left hand side. It re.' sults from this construction that the i pulp which is fed to the left hand side. of each compartment, as will presently'appear, will be compressed between thejwire cloth which covers the drums and the walls '7, 8, and 9 of the compartments10, 11,

paper 7 r and 12, respectively, thereby resulting in a greater extraction of the dirty water than has heretofore been the case.

The interiors of the said drums are provided with a plurality of bent plates 19, extending substantially the full lengths of the drums and serving as buckets to receive the dirty water as it passes through the wire cloth. As is best indicated in Fig. 3, the shafts 13, 14, and 15 are surrounded by the sleeves or bushings 20 which are preferably formed in the shape of a double cone, the greatest diameter of which is at approximately the center of the said drums.

It thus results that any water which may be caught in the buckets 19 will be caused to flow in both directions to the opposite ends of the drums 16, 17, and 18, from whence it is discharged through the annular openings 21 and 22 into the waste troughs 23 and 2 1 provided upon the side walls of the vat 5. From these said troughs or receptacles 23 and 21, the dirty water may be removed and disposed of in any suitable manner.

The shafts 13, 14 and 15 carrying the drums 16, 17, and 18 may be driven in any suitable manner, as for example by means of the gear trains 26, which in turn may be driven from the pulleys 27 by any suitable source of power not shown. Water is supplied to the various compartments of the vat 5 by means of a water pipe 30 having the valve controlled branches 31, 32, 33, and 3 1, as will 'be clear from Figs. 1 and 2 of the drawings.

The left hand end of the vat, as seen in Figs. 1 and 2 may be provided with a stock receiving and supply chamber 35, from which stock may be fed to the first of the compartments 10, while the other end of the said vat may be provided with a chamber 36 which is adapted to receive the cleaned libers from the washingapparatus and retain them until they are withdrawn for further treatment.

The operation of the invention will be clear from the foregoing, but it may be briefly summarized as follows;

The comminuted fibers are first introduced into the chamber 35 of the vat 5 together with a certain amount of water or other liquid. From the said chamber they pass over the top of the partition 37, where they are subjected to the action of water jets from the water supply branch pipe 31, and flow down into the chamber 10. The power being turned on, the drum 16 will be rotated in a counter clock-wise direction, as seen in Fig. 2, and the fibers will be caught between the surface of the wire gauze which covers the said drum, and the wall 7 of the compartment 10.

Due to the eccentric mounting of the drum within the compartment, a squeezing action will be had between the said wire gauze surrelatively large proportion of the water,

'which now carries the foreign matter, for

merly carried by the fibers, being forced through the meshes of the said wire gauze and into the interior of the drum 16.

This Water is caught in the bucket members 19, and as the said drum revolves, is lifted upwardly on the right hand side thereof, and due to the sloping of the double cone sleeve member 20, it will flow in both directions to the opposite ends of the said drum and out through the annular passages 21 and 22 into the waste receptacles 23 and 24, from which it may be removed continuously or intermittently, as desired.

As the drum 16 continues to revolve, the pulp will be forced upwardly upon the surface of the wall 7 of the compartment 10, until it finally reaches the top of the said wall, from whence it will pass over and into the compartment 11 wherein the washing and squeezing action'will be repeated by the spray from the pipe 32 and the drum 17.

In like manner the pulp will pass from the compartment 11 into the compartment 12, Where it will be further subjected to the action of the sprays from the pipe 33 and the squeezing action of the drum 18. The pulp is finally discharged into the chamber 36, being subjected to the action of the water sprays from the pipe 34 as it enters the said chamber, from which it may be removed as desired for further treatment in order to prepare it for the final steps in the paper making process.

It is obvious that those skilled in the art may vary the details of construction as well as the arrangement of parts without departing fromrthe spirit of the invention, and therefore itis not wished to be limited to the above disclosure except as may be required by the claims.

What is claimed is 1. A. pulp washing apparatus comprising a compartment having a curved wall, for receiving a mixture of pulp and water; and means eccentrically mounted within said compartment relative to said curved wall and converging constantly therewith to the discharge point, for separating said water from said pulp, said means pressing said pulp against said wall with a constantly increasing pressure up to said discharge point.

2. A pulp washing apparatus comprising a compartment having a curved wall, for receiving a mixture of pulp and water; and means comprising a travelling foraminous surface eccentrically mounted in a horizontal plane within said compartment relative to said curved wall and converging constantly therewith to the discharge point.

3. A pulp washing apparatus comprising a compartment having a curved wall, for receiving a mixture of pulp and water; and means within said compartment comprising a rotatable drum, the axis of which is eccentrically displaced in a horizontal plane from the center of curvature of said wall, said drum being provided with a foraminous surface which converges constantly with said Wall, whereby it will press said pulp against said wall to separate the water therefrom with a constantly increasing pressure to the discharge point.

4. A pulp washing apparatus comprising a substantially semi-cylindrical compartment for receiving a mixture of pulp and water; and a rotatable drum provided with a foraminous surface, eccentrically mounted within said compartment relative to the center of curvature of the walls thereof, for pressing said pulp against the wall thereof to extract the water therefrom and to feed the same forward.

A pulp washing apparatus comprising a compartment having a curved wall for receiving the pulp; means for spraying water upon said pulp; a rotatable drum within said compartment, eccentrically mounted relative to the center of curvature of said wall, and provided with a foraminous surface for pressing the mixture against the wall of said compartment to separate the water and pulp, and feed the latter forward; means within said drum for receiving said water; and means for discharging the water from said drum at both ends thereof.

6. In a pulp washing apparatus, a receptacle provided with a plurality of compartments each having a curved wall for receiving the pulp; means for spraying said pulp with Water as it enters each compartment; and a traveling foraminous surface Within each compartment eccentrically mounted relative to the center of curvature of said wall, and, converging therewith at the discharge side, and adapted to press the pulp mixture against said wall to separate the water therefrom, and to feed the' pulp forward.

7. In a pulp washing apparatus, a receptacle provided with a plurality of substantially semi-cylindrical compartments for receiving the pulp; means for spraying said pulp with water as it enters each compartment; and a traveling foraminous surface within each compartment, converging to ward the wall thereof at the discharge side, and adapted to press the pulp mixture against said wall to separate the water therefrom, and to feed the pulp forward, said surfaces comprisingwire-covered drums eccentrically mounted in eachcompartment, relative to the axis thereof.

In testimony whereof, I affix my signature.

NATHAN H. BERGSTROM. 

